The Solution of Susan
by Scandiadream
Summary: Susan Pevensie may have lost her family in an accident. But that does not mean she is lost to Narnia forever. Here she is brought back to the place she loved and never truly forgot.


**The Solution of Susan**

**A Chronicles of Narnia fanfic**

By Scandiadream Rated PG

Disclaimer: Narnia and all its characters are copyright of CS Lewis.

It was New Year's Day of 1950. Susan Pevensie was now 22 years old. A young woman whom in other circumstances would have been in the prime of her life.

But Susan was in deep despair. She had lost her entire family in a train crash a few months earlier. All at once, all gone. Now they were just a memory.

Susan may not have missed a single day of work without a serious excuse, nor had she stopped doing the same great job she had done since she had become a secretary. But she had lost over 20 pounds since the accident had taken place. She could not eat, she barely slept, and when she was home she could not stop crying.

"Why? Why did you do this to me? If you wanted to punish me, you could have just made me ill. So that it would have hurt me and nobody else".

The priest at church had reminded Susan that God did not cause the trains to crash in order to punish her- or anyone. That accidents just happened. Poor Susan had to remind herself of this every day. In the past she had enjoyed parties- and dressing up for them- very much. But now Susan was in such deep depression, that everything she had enjoyed in the past did not seem appealing anymore.

Susan looked at pictures of her siblings. She remembered all the things they did together when they were children. To her memory came the time when they were taking refuge in Professor Kirke's house during the air raids. He had also passed away in the train crash, so his most prized possession- a curious wardrobe- had been left to Susan and was received today.

For some reason, the wardrobe seemed to be much more than just plain a closet for clothes. It brought back memories to Susan.

"Through this wardrobe, I went to a beautiful land. And I was queen- and so was Lucy. And Peter and Edmund were kings. It seems too real to have been just a game. And some ridiculous prince tried to win my hand in marriage. And I had a horn. And there was a talking Lion. There's no way we could have come up with all that on our own! How could I have thought for a moment that all those things were silly childish games?"

Susan broke into tears again. She wanted to be there with her family again. But they were gone. All of them.

However, the memories kept coming back to her. Each time more vivid. She could hear her siblings' voices. She could feel the lovely dresses she wore in that fantasy land- which looked and felt even better than the nylons she fawned over. And she now recalled the name of the land- Narnia. It brought a smile to her face. And a bigger smile was brought upon remembering the Lion's name- Aslan.

But they were just memories. They were all in the past. She could never go back.

"Congratulation, Miss Pevensie. You are Employee of the Month for January."

Susan still gave her best. She hoped her family would be watching proudly over her. Even if she had disappointed them by not believing anymore, at least she was still trying to live for the better. But even the satisfaction of this could not bring her joy. Susan started crying in front of her flat- this time worse than before.

Susan spotted a beautiful orange cat walking towards her.

"Hi kitten". Susan had never really been much of an animal person- Lucy liked them more. But this time Susan let the cat climb on her lap. She hugged it as it looked into her eyes.

"It's not like you know what I am going through" Susan told the cat. The cat licked her face and nuzzled against her.

"You're hungry? I'll go get you something to eat". But as Susan got up to enter her place, the cat was gone without a trace.

That night, Susan fell asleep very quickly- the first time she had done that since she had lost her family.

Susan was dreaming a very beautiful dream. She found herself in a beautiful forest full of trees. It was a strange and speculative dream to say the least- now there was a lamp post growing in a small clearing in the forest. How could a lamp post be in the middle of nowhere and glowing so brightly? And somehow it seemed familiar.

But what was odder was how Susan felt. She knelt near a small pond of water- the clearest and most crystalline water she had ever seen. She gazed at her reflection in the water- and received a very nice surprise. Her cheeks had gained color again. She was wearing a lovely gown like that of a queen. A gown that looked fantastic on her curves. She was no longer bony- she had the beautiful figure she once had before the accident. And her long dark hair was adorned by a circlet of golden leaves and flowers.

Not only did she look beautiful- she felt beautiful. She felt as if nothing bad had ever happened to her. As if she had no regrets. As if everything was going to be all right and she would be joyful forever.

What a pleasant dream.

Or was it a dream?

"SUSAN!" exclaimed a familiar voice.

Susan turned around and saw her younger sister Lucy. She was also dressed like a beautiful queen and had a tiara as well. Susan had dreamt of her family many times since their deaths, but never had any of them shown up like this.

"Susan you're here!" Lucy ran towards Susan and embraced her.

"Lucy, what do you mean I am here? It is you who are here, in my dream." Susan replied.

"Susan, it is not a dream. You are here. In the real Narnia. In Aslan's Country- which is our true Home". Lucy said joyfully.

Everything made sense to Susan now. But to Lucy's surprise, Susan's expression was one of worry and fear. While Lucy wanted to run and dance and sing and jump for joy, Susan panicked.

"I am staying here. Right on this spot. Nobody else knows I am here. So I am not moving. I will be fine here" Susan said. "Do not tell anybody about me, PLEASE". Susan seemed very nervous, almost frightened.

"Susan, this is just the very beginning." Lucy tried to convince her.

"Lucy, you are not the one who forgot about Narnia. You are not the one who got sidetracked by unimportant things. You are not the one who will get into trouble. Everyone is happy to have you here. You, and Peter, and Edmund too. But what I did was worse. I should have known better." Susan was crying again.

Lucy at first looked confused while Susan talked. But Susan did notice that all of a sudden, Lucy's eyes started sparkling and a big smile appeared on her face.

"Susan, do you know who is happiest of all that you are here?" Lucy asked her sister.

"Who?" Susan asked with genuine curiosity.

"That would be myself" a beautiful voice said behind Susan. Yes, the voice of the One that she loved and trusted the most in the world.

Susan turned around. And as upon cue, Lucy ran towards where the rest of her family was, shouting "Hey everyone! Susan's here! Susan's here!"

"May I speak to Alberta Scrubb?"

"Speaking"

"Mrs. Scrubb, this is Mark Chambers. I am Susan Pevensie's employer. I am calling because she did not show up today and has not called the office to report a reason why. Susan has not missed a single day of work before- she even returned right after burying her family. We have phoned her house repeatedly, but there is no answer. Since you are her next of kin, I would appreciate it if you could check to see if she is all right."

Alberta Scrubb first called Susan's number- again, no answer. She went by Susan's flat. Her buggy was still parked there. Alberta checked the mailbox- today's mail had not been picked up by Susan yet.

Alberta knocked the door once. Then twice. No answer.

"Susan?" she called out. No answer.

Alberta looked through the windows. She saw and heard nobody. There seemed to be no activity or movement.

So Alberta took the last resort and let herself inside the flat using the spare key that Susan had given her after the accident.

"Susan?" she called out. There was no answer. She did see Susan's purse on top of the counter. Her house and car keys were next to it. Clearly there was no sign of force entry nor of a struggle. Alberta wondered what was going on.

So she entered Susan's bedroom. She saw Susan still in bed. Though Susan liked sleeping late (although not as much as Edmund did), Alberta knew that Susan would never be asleep at noon.

She noticed that Susan had a smile on her face. It was the first time Alberta had seen Susan smiling since the accident.

"Susan!"

But Susan did not move.

Alberta nudged her trying to wake her up. But she did not have to check for breathing or take her pulse to figure out that she would not wake up.

Alberta began crying. She may not have been the friendliest of persons, but she did have a heart. She did not know who to call first- if her husband Harold or Susan's boss. But she did call both.

"Susan has passed away."

"There were no wounds. Toxicology report is negative. There was no force used. This is the result of a broken heart. Of grief and despair. But Susan is now in a better place."

She sure was.

"SUSAN!" various voices cried out joyfully in unison.

"Mother! Father! Peter! Edmund! Eustace!" Susan squealed upon seeing the rest of her relatives. "And the Professor, and his friend Miss Polly, and Jill!" she kept singing upon seeing even more of her friends. "And Caspian, and Aravis, and Reepicheep, and so many friends!".

Susan was both laughing and crying.

"I was afraid that I would be judged. But everyone is happy that I am here."

"We sure are. All of us!" Lucy added. "And you'll be here forever, here in the real Narnia".

Once a King or Queen of Narnia, always a King or Queen of Narnia.

Once saved, ALWAYS SAVED.

The End

I had been daydreaming this story for a while since re-reading the Narnia books this year. But one night I dreamed that I was writing and publishing it. I have not written a fanfic in years. Yet the same way that a dream inspired me to write my other religious fanfic, The Prince, it is again a dream that inspired me to share this story. I hope you enjoyed it. I cried while writing down some parts.

Comments and criticism are more than welcome. Flames are not. Aslan encourages the use of imagination and fantasy- do not go around killing it.


End file.
